-Real World-
Today represented a watershed moment for Devil Fruit users across the world. The opportunity to witness the teachings of the future Great Captain Buggy was an unprecedented gift—one that countless warriors would have killed for.
Devil Fruit development had always been a solitary journey. Unlike swordsmanship or martial arts, there were no established schools or systematic training methods for fruit abilities. Each user was forced to explore their powers through trial and error, leading to wildly inconsistent results across the seas. Some individuals with godlike fruits remained pathetically weak, while others with seemingly useless abilities became forces of nature through sheer ingenuity and dedication.
The Shichibukai provided perfect examples of both extremes. Gekko Moriah and Donquixote Doflamingo both possessed Paramecia-type Devil Fruits, yet the gulf between their applications was staggering. Where Doflamingo had crafted an empire from string, Moriah had squandered the incredible potential of shadow manipulation through sheer laziness and poor understanding.
-Broadcast-
The Sky Screen's focus shifted to reveal Buggy standing before a pristine whiteboard, his theatrical presence commanding the makeshift classroom. Luffy sat in the front row like an eager student, while Alvida occupied a seat nearby, her war club resting against her chair. Rayleigh had positioned himself in the corner, arms crossed and expression skeptical—clearly present under sufferance rather than genuine interest.
"All three of us possess Paramecia-type abilities," Buggy began, his voice carrying the confidence of absolute authority. "I have the deepest understanding of this fruit category, though my theories apply to all Devil Fruit types. Luffy, let's start with you. Tell me everything you know about your Gomu Gomu no Mi—every characteristic, every limitation, every possibility you've discovered."
Luffy carefully placed his precious straw hat on the desk before him, his brow furrowed in concentration as he attempted to organize his thoughts. For someone who typically acted on pure instinct, analytical thinking was genuinely difficult work.
"Well..." Luffy said slowly, "I'm made of rubber. My body has elasticity and can stretch really far. I can inflate parts of my body with air, and I can coat myself with Armament Haki. Oh! And lightning doesn't hurt me at all."
He spent nearly five minutes reaching even that basic summary—a testament to how little he'd truly considered the theoretical aspects of his own abilities. His development of the Gomu Gomu no Mi had been almost entirely intuitive, born from necessity and experimentation rather than systematic study.
"I classify Paramecia Devil Fruits into two fundamental categories," Buggy announced, turning to write on the whiteboard with dramatic flair. "Internal-type and External-type. When someone first consumes a Devil Fruit, they typically manifest only one of these forms."
He drew a simple diagram, dividing the board in half with bold strokes.
"Your Gomu Gomu no Mi, Luffy, and my own Split-Split Fruit both began as Internal-type abilities. The power affects our physical bodies directly, altering our fundamental nature rather than projecting outward."
Buggy's explanation continued with concrete examples drawn from their world's most notorious Devil Fruit users. Mr. 3 from Baroque Works possessed the Doru Doru no Mi (Wax-Wax Fruit), which could only produce wax substances external to his body—a clear External-type manifestation. Charlotte Oven's Netsu Netsu no Mi (Heat-Heat Fruit) allowed him to superheat objects through contact but couldn't raise his own body temperature, another External-type classification.
"And then we have failures like Gekko Moriah," Buggy said with undisguised contempt. "The Kage Kage no Mi (Shadow-Shadow Fruit) should be one of the most terrifying abilities in existence. Instead, that fool limits himself to cutting shadows from victims and controlling them externally. When he tries to absorb multiple shadows into his own body—the Internal application—he loses control completely. It's a waste of unimaginable potential."
Buggy's painted features twisted into a predatory grin. "But what happens when someone transcends these initial limitations? When they achieve both Internal and External manifestations simultaneously?"
He placed his palm against the ancient stone wall behind him. "That, my students, is Devil Fruit Awakening."
The wall instantly fragmented into dozens of perfectly geometric pieces, each segment hovering in mid-air as if suspended by invisible strings. The demonstration lasted only seconds, but its implications were staggering—Buggy had imposed his Split-Split abilities on the very environment around him.
"Incredible!" Luffy's eyes sparkled with genuine excitement. "I could do that someday?"
"Lord Buggy's power is absolutely devastating," Alvida breathed, clearly impressed despite her usual composure.
Buggy basked in their admiration for a moment before continuing his lecture. "What I just demonstrated represents the most basic level of Devil Fruit Awakening. If you reached this stage, Luffy, anything you touched would acquire rubber properties. The environment itself would become your ally."
He gestured to the floating wall fragments, which slowly reassembled themselves with mathematical precision.
"Awakened Devil Fruits grow stronger over time, allowing users to assimilate larger areas and more complex objects. However," his voice took on a warning tone, "this ability has critical limitations. Objects protected by Armament Haki remain immune to awakened powers—which is why Rayleigh insisted you focus on Haki training. Both the old generation and the new have been walking the wrong path entirely."
The sarcastic smile playing across Buggy's features carried an edge of genuine contempt for conventional wisdom. Every Devil Fruit user in the world was hanging on his next words, desperate to understand what they might have been doing wrong.
"But awakening is not the final stage," Buggy announced, his voice dropping to build dramatic tension. "The next level—which I call Devil Fruit Liberation—transcends even those limitations. Rayleigh, I'll need your assistance for this demonstration."
The Dark King rose from his corner seat with obvious reluctance, muttering under his breath about being treated like a test dummy. Despite his complaints, professional curiosity won out over wounded pride.
"What exactly do you need me to do?" Rayleigh asked warily. "Please tell me this doesn't involve another fight."
"Nothing so strenuous," Buggy assured him with theatrical magnanimity. "Simply coat your arm with Armament Haki and don't dodge whatever happens next. I promise to be gentle—mostly."
Rayleigh raised his right arm, the appendage immediately becoming wreathed in the distinctive black coating of advanced Armament Haki. Decades of training had made the technique as natural as breathing, creating what should have been an impenetrable defense.
"Watch carefully," Buggy instructed his audience as he placed his palm against Rayleigh's protected arm. "Observe what happens to his Haki."
Where Buggy's hand made contact, the Armament Haki began dissolving like smoke in a strong wind. The black coating that had protected Rayleigh through countless battles simply crumbled away, leaving vulnerable flesh exposed to whatever Buggy might choose to do.
"Impossible," Rayleigh whispered, genuine shock replacing his usual composure. He tried desperately to reinforce the Haki coating, pouring more energy into the technique, but Buggy's power consumed every defense as quickly as it formed. "How can a Devil Fruit affect Armament Haki directly?"
"Then what was the point of learning Haki at all?" Luffy demanded, his excitement from moments before replaced by confused frustration. "Did I waste 2-years of my life?"
"This is the power of second-stage Devil Fruit development," Buggy explained, his voice carrying the weight of absolute authority. "My Split-Split ability can now decompose anything I touch—including the supposedly impervious armor of Haki itself. If you achieved Liberation with your Gomu Gomu no Mi, Luffy, you could transform even Haki-enhanced enemies into harmless rubber, rendering their greatest strength meaningless."
Luffy's eyes practically glowed with possibility. The idea of turning Marines into bouncy, non-threatening rubber figures held obvious appeal for someone with his playful nature. He could already imagine the creative names he'd give such techniques.
"With further development," Buggy continued, "Liberation-stage abilities can be compressed and projected without physical contact. Imagine turning an entire Marine squadron into rubber from a distance, or decomposing their weapons before they could even draw them."
"That's enough demonstration for now, Vice Captain," Buggy said with dismissive casualness. "You can return to your seat."
Rayleigh walked back to his corner position, his usual confident stride replaced by something resembling a shuffle. The casual destruction of his Haki defenses had clearly shaken him more than he cared to admit.
"Perhaps this new era truly has no place for old men like me," he murmured, just loud enough for the others to hear. At nearly eighty years of age, Rayleigh had begun feeling the weight of his years, and Buggy's demonstration had forced him to confront an uncomfortable truth about the changing nature of power in their world.
But even as doubt crept into his mind, the Dark King's analytical nature remained sharp. If Devil Fruits could truly transcend Haki limitations, then everything he thought he knew about combat had to be reconsidered. The implications were staggering—and terrifying.